Recent Indictments Show Russia Sows Discord in America, Russia Expert Says Spectrum

Russia intended to support candidates against Hillary Clinton- the object of Vladimir Putin’s hatred, says expert on Russia, Dr. Steven Miner, scholar, author and professor in the Contemporary History Institute of Ohio University. Russia also intended to disrupt American politics and social systems leading up to and after the 2016 Presidential Election, says Miner after perusing the 35 pages of indictments filed February 16 by United States Special Counsel Robert Mueller. The Russians intended to cause discord and chasms within the United States and Miner says they have been successful. The indictments accuse 13 Russians, who infiltrated the United States with special agents, of illegal activities surrounding the 2016 Election and three Russian companies who helped illegally finance the espionage. Some American experts have called this infiltration an act of war. Dr. Miner calls the operation acts of aggression. He agrees that the Russians have and will continue to breed chaos within the American systems and with the American public unless stopped by Congress or the Trump Administration. Some five days after the indictments were made public, Dr. Miner is surprised that President Donald Trump has not condemned the Russian activities or done anything overtly to stop Russian meddling. Trump also has not imposed sanctions against Russia for past election interference. Those sanctions earlier were passed by Congress by overwhelming margins. Many, including Dr. Miner, are surprised with Trump’s apparent indifference to the Russian aggression and his lack of any coherent policy to counteract Russian interference. Dr. Miner is an international expert and specialist in recent Russia/Soviet and East European history. He also is an award winning author. He just completed writing a book called “The Furies Unleashed: The Soviet People at War, 1941-1945.”